Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Gunning for his presentation which was very informative. I have serious political reservations about the sale of Coillte. My party considers it politically irresponsible to sell off an enterprise such as Coillte which has performed so well and made a profit of €19.9 million in 2011 when the outlay included the €34 million spent on the road infrastructure. The profits made were absolutely fantastic in the times we were in. We must acknowledge and commend everybody associated with such a good performance.

Everybody would like answers to many of the questions Deputy Ó Cuív asked. I do not want to go over old ground. Concerns about the environmental and social consequences of this proposal have been highlighted. The consequences for nature conservation should be mentioned in that context. Who is responsible for the management of Coillte lands with regard to environmental protection, nature conservation and social and recreational uses of these lands?

I am concerned about access to lands that will be leased for between 50 and 80 years. In addition to timber, certain minerals may be found within those lands. If there is a lease of 80 years, who will own those minerals? Has anybody carried out a geological survey to ascertain whether there are any mineral assets under Coillte lands? If not, is it intended to conduct any such surveys before any lands are sold or leased?

Given that Coillte has performed so well in recent years, when everything else has been going belly-up, it does not make any sense for its lands to be sold or leased. If this goes ahead, what will the consequences be for those who are currently employed by Coillte? Will there be job losses? Has all of that been factored into the proposed sales? Mr. Gunning informed us that "7% of the land area of the country" is currently under plantations and so forth.

I would like to raise another issue that I recall somebody mentioning. What is the current position with regard to the grant procedure for replanting that has been in place in the past? If my understanding is correct, the only person who can apply for a replanting grant is the person who harvested the product. If it is the case that the land will revert back to the State, that will have serious consequences for the cost of replanting given that the State will not have harvested the product initially. Who is responsible for the management of harvesting? I am particularly concerned about the state the land is left in after harvesting.

Some significant questions need to be asked. As Mr. Gunning said, "approximately 17% of Ireland's telecommunications" infrastructure is located on Coillte lands. That includes the masts that are being put in place to facilitate the expansion of broadband throughout Ireland. We are familiar with the important role that is playing. What will happen to all of the things that are in place? What will happen if Coillte lands that have been sold need to be accessed as part of the roll-out of broadband in areas that do not currently have it? Will all of that be protected? I will leave it at that for now.

I thank Mr. Gunning for his informative presentation, which has raised serious questions. On behalf of my party, I reiterate that I absolutely oppose the sale or leasing of Coillte lands to any foreign or national speculator who would be able to reap the benefits of the taxpayers' money that has been spent to bring this resource to where it is today. It is arguable that the manner in which Coillte has been able to diversify is the reason the indications for its future are so good. All the good things that have been done, including the tremendous work of management to turn Coillte into a very profitable organisation, should not be given away to multinational speculators to enable them to reap the benefits of the hard-earned investment of Irish taxpayers.